Cotton-grader.



R. H. SMITH. COTTONJ GBADER. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13,y 1911.l

Inventor by Y Y O Attorneys Y @avm Patend'may 9,1911.

-LL (f.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

ROBERT I-I. SMITH, OF GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA.

COTTON-GRADER.

T o all 'whom if may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gainesville, in t-he county of Hall and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Cotton-Grader, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to cotton graders and consists in the novel construction and arrangement of its parts as hereinafter shown and described.

The object of the invention is to provide a receptacle divided into compartments in which are located samples of dierent grades of cotton, the said samples being retained in their respective compartments and being unobstructed to view and touch.

A further object of the invention is to provide a receptacle as indicated made up of sections which are hinged together and which may fold one upon the other in compact form, a flap being provided for swinging over one or t-he other of the said sections when they are in open position, the said iap having upon its faces and adjacent the respective compartment-s legends descriptive of the samples of cotton contained therein together with factors of a scale of prices indicative of the value of cotton corresponding to the sample.

In the United States the Government has indirectly through its executive department established rules creating nine different grades in cotton fiber, these grades ranging in four superior qualities above middling basis and four inferior qualities below middling basis, and the cotton exchange market at intervals issues a scale of prices applied to these dierent grades.

Therefore it will be seen that in the present invention it is the object to provide in a convenient form the several grades together with the legends descriptive thereof associated with the cotton samples in a practically inseparable manner together with the price indicative of the value of cotton corresponding with each sample so that a small buyer or seller may readily determine the quality and value of a quantity of cotton without having to consult an expert.

Also it is t-he object of the invention to so assemble the parts of the receptacle that the samples of cotton are effectually protected against dust and other deleterious substances; the conditions of the receptacle being such that the samples of cotton will Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led January 13, 1911.

Patented May 9, 1911.

Serial 1\To. 602,482.

not change their' appearance or condition as a consequence of being contained within the said receptacle.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cot-ton grader. Fig. 9. is a transverse sectional view of the same showing the sections thereof swung to open position. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the cotton grader showing the sections open. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the cotton grader with the samples removed and showing one form of sample retainer. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the grader showing a modified form of sample retainer.

The cotton grader consists of casing sections 1 hingedly connected together at the upper edges of their adjacent sides by. a flexible hinge 2 which extends the entire length of the casing sections 1 and when the said sections are closed together serves as a means for closing the space between the edges of the said casing sections. The

hinge 2 is preferably made of cloth. Receptacles 3 are snugly fitted within the casing sections 1 and are provided with transversely disposed partitions 4 which divide them into compartments. Cotton samples 5 are located in the compartments of the said receptacles and are secured therein by means of pins 6 passed through the sides of the receptacles and the partitions 4 and projected at their ends into the said samples. The said pins 6 do not penetrate the sides or ends of the casing sections l therefore the said casing sections serve as means for'preventing t-he withdrawal of the said pins from the cotton samples 5. The said pins are adapted to hold each sample in its proper compartment so that the samples may not be removed or interchanged for fraud or deception. A flap 7 is hinged to one of the receptacles 3 at the inner side thereof and is arranged when the casing sections 1 are swung to open positions as illustrated in the figures of the drawings, to be swung over either of the receptacles 3. The flap 7 is provided upon its opposite faces and adjacent each of the compartments which contains a graded sample of cotton 5 with a legend 8 descriptive of the sample contained within the compartment adjacent thereto, that is to say when the said flap 7 is swung over one receptacle 3, the legends 8 exposed are descriptive of the samples of cotton contained within the adjacent compartments of the other receptacle 3 and Vice versa. The said flap 7 also has upon its opposite faces adjacent the respective compartments of the receptacle 3 factors of a scale of prices indicative of the value of the cotton corresponding with the samples in the adjacent compartment.

The receptacle 3 to which the flap 7 is hinged, projects at its edge portion above the edges of the casing section l within which it is located and the said projecting end portions are provided upon their outer surfaces with velvet strips l0 or strips of other pile fabric and the casing section l which contains the other receptacle 3 projects at its edge portions to some extent above the upper edge of the receptacle 3 contained therein. Therefore when the casing sections l are swung together the edge portion of the receptacle 3 having the pile fabric l0 about its edges will slip down within the edges of the other casing section l and the pile of the fabric l0 will close the space thus making it impossible for dust to sift in and mingle with the several samples of cotton to the detriment thereof.

The cotton samples are absolutely unobstructed to view and touch and in view of the fact that they are not covered by transparencies there is no danger of their being diseolored or otherwise given an unnatural appearance or condition.

Any suitable securing devices may be employed for holding the sections of the casing l together when they are closed.

While there are but nine different standard grades of cotton, the receptacle shows ten compartments. In two of these compartments are located samples of the highest grade namely the grade of middling fair,

this being for the purpose that the said highest grade may be compared with the samples irrespective ofthe position of the flap 7 with relation to the receptacle 3.

Having described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A cotton grader comprising casing sections hinged together by a flexible hinge which extends from one end to the other end of the sections, receptacles located within the casing sections and divided by transversely disposed partitions into compartments, graded cotton samples located in the compartments, securing devices passing through the partitions and sides of the receptacles and penetrating the samples contained within the compartments, one of the said receptacles having its edges below the edges of the containing casing section, the other receptacle having its edge portion projecting above the edges of the containing section, a pile fabric applied to the sides of the projecting edge portions of the last mentioned receptacle, a flap hinged to one of the receptacles and adapted to swing over one or the other of the said receptacles, said flap having upon its faces legends descriptive of the quality of the samples in the adjacent compartment and factors of a scale of prices indicative of the value of cotton corresponding with the samples in the adjacent compartment.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own7 I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT II. SMITH. 7Witnesses Z. T. CAs'rLnBURY, T. A. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

